Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino smiles during practice the day before the semifinals of the Midwest regional at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Jamie Rhodes, USA TODAY Sports

by Rachel George, USA TODAY Sports

by Rachel George, USA TODAY Sports

ATLANTA â?? Tom Jurich had little time to reflect. The Louisville athletics director had about 30 minutes Sunday afternoon to catch another flight to another basketball game, a frequent occurrence over the past month.

With the Cardinals men's and women's teams in the Final Four, Jurich was happily shuttling between Atlanta and New Orleans over the weekend.

Combine that with a Bowl Championship Series bowl win, and this might be a golden year in Louisville athletics history.

"It's just been nonstop," Jurich said. "Certainly nobody every takes anything for granted. It's a very special time."

The past four months have brought success in Louisville's biggest programs, with the chance for more. In football, the Cardinals trounced then-No. 4 Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

The women's basketball team, a No. 5 seed, advanced to the program's second Final Four, knocking off defending champ Baylor, the top overall seed, in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Elite Eight.

Sunday, Jurich left the men's site for the women's national semifinal game vs. California in New Orleans, where the Cardinals rallied for a 64-57 win and will face Connecticut or Notre Dame for the title Tuesday.

He'll return to Atlanta for today's men's title game. The Louisville men's school-record 34th win came Saturday in the semifinals at the Georgia Dome as the Cardinals beat Wichita State to advance to their third NCAA championship game.

It has made for a fun few months at Louisville.

"Just lucky. There is talent, but there is luck in there too," center Gorgui Dieng said. "I'm sure we deserve it. You deserve everything you have if you just do everything the right way."

Dieng said he hasn't missed a women's home game when the men's team wasn't on the road. According to coach Rick Pitino, that kind of support isn't rare.

"(Guard) Russ Smith took off all his clothes - except his underpants, of course - and painted his body red for a women's soccer game in the cold," Pitino said. "That's what these guys are about. â?¦ It's a pretty cool school."

Louisville's bottom line stands to benefit, however modestly, from the postseason success. While schools often see an increase in ticket and merchandise sales, winning can come with a cost, including coaching salary increases and facility renovations.

"It's better to win than not to win, but there are costs to it," economist Andrew Zimbalist said. "In net terms, it's not a big deal. All of those things are potential sources of gain, but they're not incredibly large."

Recent champions North Carolina (2009) and Kansas (2008) saw operating surpluses increase at least $1.6 million in the year following a championship season, according to revenue and expense reports submitted to the NCAA. Like Louisville, they are the rare schools that generate a larger surplus in men's basketball than football. (While Louisville had the highest surplus in the country in men's basketball in 2010-11, it was not among the 22 public schools that met the NCAA's standards for self-sufficiency.)

"Going to the Final Fours for both men and women, that helps," Jurich said. "It makes all your donors feel good about what you're investing in."

Jurich said he hadn't thought about the financial windfall for the school. With national title games on back-to-back nights in two cities, any reflection would be saved for the summer.

Late Sunday, Jurich expected to be on a flight back to Atlanta, with another basketball game - a pretty big one - on the schedule.

He's got another trip back Tuesday for the women's championship game. This time of year, another basketball trip is just fine with Jurich.